SneakyGuy101 on 2/9/2013 at 06:24
I really need help on how to make a city mission because I am really in need of help with things (Architecture)
Tannar on 2/9/2013 at 07:08
I've moved your post here since it really belongs in this forum rather than the fan mission forum. And if you do a search of this forum, you should find quite a few threads discussing this.
gigagooga on 2/9/2013 at 13:34
Quote Posted by Sneaky Guy101
I really need help on how to make a city mission because I am really in need of help with things (Architecture)
1. Create huge airbrush
2. add house sized solid cube in it and shape it into house
3. repeat #2
that is pretty much the only advice others could give to you, rest is up to your own imagination.
EmperorSteele on 2/9/2013 at 13:37
To make buildings look interesting, you're going to have to try to conceptualize asymmetry, layers, and details that either stick out or concave in.
Asymmetry means that the building doesn't split evenly down the middle. That might mean because it's L-shaped, or has an attachment on the side, or even just something subtle like the main entrance is off-center.
Layers: A lot of buildings in The City have a small (2-4 unit high) layer of rock or large stone at its base. Above that you have your first floor layer, 12-14 units high, made up of whatever stone/brick/wood texture you like. Above that, make another 2-4 unit high brush that spans the entire length of the building, and paint that with a decorative ledge texture (maybe even let it stick out 1 or 2 units so it looks like a real ledge). Repeat for as many floors as you'd like your building to have. For the top 1 or 2 floors, consider changing up from a stone texture to a tudor texture (the ones with the yellow and black beams in the city texture family)
To give your buildings a little more life, give them balconies, mini gardens, pipes along the side, and my favorite, 3-sided windows. To make these, you're going to need a small 6-sided cylinder. Stick it half-way in the building so just 3 sides are showing (with a flat edge facing), then texture it up with windows.
Don't forget regular windows! But don't just select a window texture and paint it across the entire wall. That'll look terrible. Instead, make a 2x4 air brush, about 1 unit thick, and place it right on the edge of the wall (or maybe stick it in .5 units), portalize. Paint a window in the niche, then clone that and bring the clone over at least 4 units away. repeat. It takes more work, but it ends up being a lot better looking!
The best advice I can offer though, is google images! It's so much easier to build a complex-looking building if you're looking at a photo instead of trying to work out of your imagination. Look up Industrial, Tudor, and Gothic architecture types. Throw in Victorian if you're trying to emulate a T2 OM.
LarryG on 2/9/2013 at 14:14
Quote Posted by gigagooga
that is pretty much the only advice others could give to you, rest is up to your own imagination.
Actually, my advice is quite different.
DON'T create a huge airbrush!
1st, lay out your overall city plan on paper. Then do it again and make it bigger. You want to make sure that you have made the streets wide enough and the buildings big enough. Everything in Thief needs to be bigger than you think. It is not the real world! Don't use real world
dimensions. Instead use real world
proportions. There are practical reasons to have 2' thick walls. Allow for them.
Next, rough out your streets in DromEd by carving them out of the solid world.
Tip: Cities have hills. Don't forget to vary the heights of the streets. This is a case where you can start adding back in some solids in the form of wedges to make the streets climb hills. Better still, you can use air brush wedges to carve out valleys instead.
Then street by street, start carving out the individual building frontages, steps up to doorways, alcoves, places where buildings don't line up. Older cities didn't have city planners. People just built what they wanted inside the land they owned. Then they rebuilt on top of that. It became a mix-mash of styles enforced by lot lines. Some are more forward towards the street than others. There are unexpected alleys between some buildings (to throw trash down into, perhaps, or for deliveries.)
When you get to the roof lines, consider if you want players to get onto them or not. If not, roof objects might do instead of brush work. Think vertical when you work on the facades. Where do you want Garrett to be able to climb? Crave out the roofs by placing air brushes above the buildings to a common height for the sky.
Then start in on the exterior doors and windows. Finally start in on the interiors you want the player to explore.
Follow the [ATTACH]1780[/ATTACH] and you won't go far wrong. Start rough and refine. Only add in solid brushes inside larger air brushes where it is necessary for the architecture to come out right. DON'T create a single large air brush and add back in solid. You are defeating the design advantages of the renderer. Yes, if you need to create a large commons or square, of course you should do so, and then put back in the gazebo in the center, but that should be the exception and not the rule. Only create large air brushes when absolutely necessary.
Cardia on 2/9/2013 at 16:53
i created a huge brush for "citadel of Douro" and because of that i had problems with sound and pathfinding, so i suggest building everything within solid.
SneakyGuy101 on 2/9/2013 at 20:43
Quote Posted by cardia1
i created a huge brush for "citadel of Douro" and because of that i had problems with sound and pathfinding, so i suggest building everything within solid.
Well I am actually considering using both for my missions, like one area be full air brush with solid brushes within, another area to be air brushes within solid and another area to be half and half(half big air brush with solids and half solid with air brushes).;)
Cardia on 2/9/2013 at 21:36
Quote Posted by Sneaky Guy101
Well I am actually considering using both for my missions, like one area be full air brush with solid brushes within, another area to be air brushes within solid and another area to be half and half(half big air brush with solids and half solid with air brushes).;)
Check out Melan´s Mission "Disorientation" its a good reference of a well built city map.
gigagooga on 3/9/2013 at 05:09
Quote Posted by Sneaky Guy101
Well I am actually considering using both for my missions, like one area be full air brush with solid brushes within, another area to be air brushes within solid and another area to be half and half(half big air brush with solids and half solid with air brushes).;)
I've always built cities in big air brushes, and then afterwards resizing the air brush to more fitting size.
Also, with newdark, big air brush method is not that much of a problem anyway.
